Operative cutter unit for a wheel excavator



Dec. 12, 1967 1, TARANOV 3,357,118

OPERATIVE CUTTER UNIT FOR A WHEEL EXCAVATOR Filed Aug. 21, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 12, 1967 D. ITTARANOV 3,357,118

OPERATIVE CUTTER UNIT FOR A WHEEL EXCAVATOR Filed Aug. El, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 --wuwummimmmmmimmmmm m F/ES United States Patent 3,357,118 OPERATIVE CUTTER UNIT FGR A WHEEL EXCAVATOR Dmitry Isaakievich Taranov, Donetsk, U.S.S.R., assrgnor to Gosudarstvenny Donetsky Mashinostroitelny zavod, Donetsk, U.S.S.R.

Filed Aug. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 391,107 4 Claims. (Cl. 37-190) The present invention relates to operative cutter units of wheel excavators, and in particular, to wheel excavators employed in open face mining operations.

There are known operative cutter units of wheel excavators for open face mining with a centrifugal delivery of the scooped material, such as earth, and with a side discharge of said material through the inner side of a wheel assembly.

There is also known another kind of operative cutter unit for wheel excavators intended for trenchwork and wherein the centrifugal discharge of the scooped material is effected through an open side in the buckets, said cutter unit comprising a wheel assembly with rotary buckets, a bow shield and a drive.

The main drawback of the known operative cutter units for wheel excavators employed in open face mining is the intensive adherence of said material to the interior surfaces of the said wheel assembly.

Another drawback of the operative cutter units is the large size of the cutter wheel diameter imposed by the location of the aforesaid discharge inner side in the very same cutter wheel.

As regards present wheel trench-excavators with their centrifugal discharge through the open side in the buckets, the main drawback of their operative cutter units is the impossibility to realize excavation with side feeding of the cutter wheel.

Still another drawback inherent in the operative cutter unit of present wheel trench-excavators is the impossibility of achieving varied depths because of the fixed position of a bow shield which restricts the direction of discharge within desired limits.

Still another drawback concerning the construction of the above-mentioned operative cutter units, is the adherence of the scooped material to the inside walls of the buckets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an operative cutter unit for wheel excavators with a centrifugal discharge for the scooped material through an open side in the buckets.

It is another object of the invention to provide the capability that the above-mentioned unit may excavate with side feeding of the excavator wheel and may be equally productive for excavating in various excavation depths and numerous profiles of the cut faces.

It is still another object of the invention to exclude the possibility of denting the buckets against the cut face and to prevent the adherence of the scooped material with the inside walls of the buckets.

The present invention achieves the above objects in the following manner.

The operative cutter unit is provided with buckets fitted to the wheel assembly such that the cutting edge of each bucket is formed from the lip of a closed bend, said buckets being pivotally connected to a bowed frame. The frame and wheel are connected by means of chain guys or spring-loaded stanchions that retain the bowed frame at the required distance in relation to the cut face. The bowed frame forms a discharge outlet for the scooped material, the bottom of the bucket being constituted by interlinked chains, one end of each is coupled to the closed bend while the opposite end is connected to the bowed frame.

A bow shield for restricting the discharge of material is comprised of two segment elements placed concentrically to the axle of the wheel assembly, one of the segment elements being fixed in relation to the wheel assembly whereas the second element is movable in relation to the first segment. i

The invention when adapted to wheel excavators for use in open face mining permits such a great increase in centrifugal discharge, that it becomes possible to augment the angular velocity of the wheel while lessening its diameter, thus considerably lowering the gross weight of the operative cutter unit and hence of the excavator as a whole, or, given a gross weight equal to that of present machines, greatly adding to its excavating output.

Furthermore, by adapting the invention to boom-type open face mining wheel excavators, and by effecting discharge of the scooped material through the open side in the buckets, the receiving belt conveyor can be replaced in the same plane with a wheel assembly, which gives the operative cutter unit complete freedom to occupy the most favorable excavating angle against the cut face.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the invention presents an operative cutter unit of the most advanced kind, its economic factors placing it in the fore of all hitherto constructed operative cutter units intended for similar work.

An embodiment of the invention is next described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation view showing the connection of the operative cutter unit to the frame, and the connection of the frame to the boom of the wheel excavator.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the wheel assembly with the rotary buckets.

FIG. 3 is an end view of one of the rotary buckets.

FIG. 4 is a cross section along line A-A in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view as seen in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along lines B-B in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 represents the spring-loaded stanchion.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a wheel assembly 1, with buckets 2 and with bow shield 3 composed of the movable and fixed segment elements 4 and 5 respectively, are all assembled on a frame 6 pivotally mounted on a boom 7 of excavator 8. Frame 6 is permanently retained in a vertical plane in relation to the cut face by means of a suspension parallelogram comprising the aforesaid frame 6, a rope 9, a portal frame of the excavator 8 and a boom 7. The buckets 2 are mounted on the cutting wheel 10, the rotation of which results in a peripheral speed of the buckets 2 suflicient to create a centrifugal force overcoming the force of gravity acting on the earth 11 so as to discharge the earth through an open side 12 in the buckets 2 to a small conveyor 13 supported by the frame 6.

The earth 11 scooped out by the buckets 2 is retained in the said buckets and precluded from premature discharge at first by the opposed side of the cut face 14 and subsequently by the telescopic bow shield 3, the movable segment element 4 of which contacts the aforesaid cut face 14. From the belt conveyor 13 the earth 11 is delivered to the conveyor belt 15 supported by the boom 7 of the wheel excavator 8.

Each bucket 2 consists of: a cutting lip 16 mounted on the wheel and made in the form of a closed bend, a connecting strut 17 pivotally joined to the said cutting lip with the aid of pivots 18, a bowed frame 19 forming an open side 12 in the bucket 2, a mat built up of interlocked chains 20 and linked at its ends to the cutting lip 16 and to the bowed frame 19 thus composing the bottom of the bucket 2, chain guys 21 engaging the bowed frame 19 with wheel 10 and maintaining said bowed frame 19 at the required distance from the cut face 14,

A spring-loaded stanchion 22 (FIG. 7) may be utilized instead of the chain guys 21.

The most rational use for the invention will be in wheel excavators intended for stripping operations in open face mining.

What I claim is:

1. An operative cutter unit for a wheel excavator comprising: a cutter wheel, buckets secured to said cutter wheel, each of said buckets being composed of a closed bend forming a cutting lip spaced from the wheel, a bowed, substantially U-shaped frame having the free ends thereof pivotally attached to said closed bend adjacent said cutting lip, said U-shaped frame extending rearwardly from said cutting lip with respect to the direction of rotation of said cutter wheel, said U-shaped frame thus forming an open side in said bucket for discharge of excavated material, interlinked flexible, elements having the ends thereof secured to both said closed bend and said U-shaped frame to form a flexible bottom for said bucket, means for maintaining said U-shaped frame at a preselected distance from said cutter wheel, and said unit including means for preventing discharge of excavated material through said open side in said bucket within a preselected zone.

2 A cutter unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for maintaining said U-shaped frame at a preselected distance from said cutter wheel comprises a flexible guy member coupled to said frame and to the wheei.

3. A cutter unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for maintaining said U-shaped frame at a preselected distance from said cutter wheel comprises a spring-loaded stanchion coupled to said frame and to the wheel.

4. In combination with the cutter unit as claimed in claim 1: a portal frame, a boom provided with end pivots, said boom being secured to said portal frame by means of one of said end pivots, a frame secured to said boom by means of the other end pivot thereof, said cutter wheel being mounted on said frame, a pull rod having the ends thereof pivotally connected to both said frame and said portal frame, and maintaining said frame in a vertical plane, said pull rod forming together with said portal frame, boom and frame, a linkage arrangement in which said frame and cutter wheel automatically maintain a preselected position in the vertical plane irrespective of different angles of inclination of said boom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 779,442 1/ 1905 Richmond et al 37-190 1,858,360 5/1932 Cruse 37-94 2,088,369 7/1937 Flynn 37190 X 2,501,489 3/1950 Aisthorpe. 2,834,128 5/1958 Kolbe 37-91 X 2,926,438 3/1960 Kolbe 37-190 FOREIGN PATENTS 858,785 12/ 1952 Germany.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

R. L. HOLLISTER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN OPERATIVE CUTTER UNIT FOR A WHEEL EXCAVATOR COMPRISING: A CUTTER WHEEL, BUCKETS SECURED TO SAID CUTTER WHEEL, EACH OF SAID BUCKETS BEING COMPOSED OF A CLOSED BEND FORMING A CUTTING LIP SPACED FROM THE WHEEL, A BOWED, SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED FRAME HAVING THE FREE ENDS THEREOF PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO SAID CLOSED BEND ADJACENT SAID CUTTING LIP, SAID U-SHAPED FRAME EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM SAID CUTTING LIP WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID CUTTER WHEEL, SAID U-SHAPED FRAME THUS FORMING AN OPEN SIDE IN SAID BUCKET FOR DISCHARGING OF EXCAVATED MATERIAL, INTERLINKED FLEXIBLE, ELEMENTS HAVING THE ENDS THEREOF SECURED TO BOTH SAID CLOSED BEND AND SAID U-SHAPED FRAME TO FORM A FLEXIBLE BOTTOM FOR SAID BUCKET, MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID U-SHAPED FRAME AT A PRESELECTED DISTANCE FROM SAID CUTTER WHEEL, AND SAID UNIT INCLUDING MEANS FOR PREVENTING DISCHARGE OF EXCAVATED MATERIAL THROUGH SAID OPEN SIDE IN SAID BUCKET WITHIN A PRESELECTED ZONE. 